The North Adams Police Department in Massachusetts issued a stern warning to residents on Monday night:
“**Chasing bears through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet is strongly not advised.**”
If this was a preemptive warning, then it would be evidence that police in North Adams have too much time on their hands. But, the warning came after that very thing occurred.
According to police, a drunk man with a hatchet was taken into protective custody after he was discovered chasing a group of bears through the woods.
Police declined to comment any further on the matter - but, made it perfectly clear in a posting on the department's Facebook page that this type of behavior was completely unacceptable, telling residents that they "...don’t need anyone going all Davy Crockett chasing it through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet.”
Seems reasonable enough.
Police are still unclear as to the motives of the alleged "hatchet man"--as he's being called:
“We are still trying to figure out what his end game was. Any thoughts on what he was going to do if he did locate it? We would certainly like to hear because we have no idea.”
Perhaps his endgame was death by bear. Who knows?
Hopefully, this whole incident will serve as a warning to both the alcoholic community and the Massachusetts black bear population, which is estimated to be around 4,500.
